A Survival Guide For Life by Bear Grylls (Book Review)!!!

             

After reading lots of fiction novels, I am done reading a non fiction self-help book "A Survival Guide For Life". Seems to be just another Self-Help book but no, its not. The name of the author will itself make you determinant to read this novel as soon as you can even though the author has scripted more than 11 books. Awesome!!! He is no one other than our very own adventurous role model- the host of Man vs Wild- Bear Grylls.-Bear Grylls' prime-time TV adventure series is one of the most watched shows on the planet, reaching an estimated 1.2 billion viewers in over 200 countries. Bear has authored eleven books and, as a former member of the UK Special Forces, was made an honorary Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Navy. He continues to lead record-breaking expeditions to the world's extremes, and these missions have raised over £1.5 million for children's charities. Bear recently took over as the youngest ever Chief Scout to the Scouting Association, acting as the figurehead to 28 million Scouts around the globe. He lives with his wife, Shara, and their three sons, Jesse, Marmaduke and Huckleberry, on a Dutch barge in London and on a small remote island off the coast of Wales. After such an introduction, do you feel that I should even review the book. :-)

 The synopsis of the book says:

How to make every day an adventure.

Life in the wild teaches us invaluable lessons. Extreme situations force us to seize opportunities, face up to dangers and rely on our instincts. But living a purpose-driven, impactful life can be an even greater challenge...

In A Survival Guide for Life, Bear Grylls shares the hard-earned lessons he’s learned from some of the harshest environments on earth. How do you keep going when all the odds are stacked against you?

How can you inspire a team to follow you in spite of obvious danger? What are the most important skills to learn if you really want to achieve your maximum potential?

Bear’s instantly inspiring tales from his adventures in all four corners of the globe include his personal life lessons you will never forget. We’re all capable of living life more boldly and of having more fun along the way. Here’s to your own great adventure!

       

   The best part about the book is that it is being written by someone who has been adventurous and hard working himself. We have seen him doing the daredevil acts umpteenth number of times on Man vs Wild ourselves. I have always been fan of Robin Sharma when it comes to self-help books but reading it by Bear Grylls is different because Robin Sharma asks us to follow what he says but Bear tells what he has done himself which made him learn several things. Thus he asks us to follow what he has done and attained success. This is why reading this book was less of a lecture on motivational stuffs but more of an adventurous journey. I loved reading the book and now I am sure that I am going to read his most talked about book- Mud, Sweat and Tears very soon where he tells about how he climbed the Mount Everest by overcoming all the obstacles. 

          The tagline of this book itself says "How to achieve your goals, thrive in adversity and grow in character". And yes, 75 chapters of this book are surely something that can change our approach. Any lazy chap would feel like getting up from bed and doing something that will help him explore himself. It has been a long time since I have read a chapter-based self help book and thus this book seemed more interesting than anything. My interest is again re-generated in such kind of books as I started my reading journey through such novels. The best chapter according to me which really moved me are: 43rd, 48th and 49th. Also the exercising tip given by the author has been fantastic. He says that promise yourself that you will at least do it for 3 minutes. That will at least move you up to start. And once you will do it for 3 minutes, the pleasure that you will find will compel you to continue it for more. :-) 

            I have never seen a full episode of Bear Grylls' Man vs Wild but I only heard it from some of my friends. Also when I visited their house, I used to have a glance or two on the show. I never understood as to why would someone see a show where a man is asking us to learn how to survive in jungles when we are never really going to go to a jungle for weeks. But continuously reading appreciation about him on Twitter made me read this book written by him. I always chose reading before watching TV/movies. :-) Hence, as I am done reading this and turned fan of this guy, I would surely some day see a full episode of Man vs Wild. I give this book 4.5/5. Its amazing. But too costly. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!